Prosecutor's Missing Signature Leads to Dismissal of Six Cases

A series of cases have been dismissed by the court after prosecutors failed to include a mandatory signature on the indictments.

The Seoul Eastern District Court has dismissed charges against six defendants indicted by a prosecutor, identified as A, since April.

Courts have the authority to dismiss an indictment without a trial if the prosecution fails to meet basic legal requirements.

In February, prosecutor A failed to include an electronic signature while submitting the indictments to the court through the Korea Criminal Justice Information System (KICS).

The court discovered the absence of the prosecutor's signature during the trial process and notified the prosecution, but by then, prosecutor A had already retired, making it impossible to rectify the omission.

Article 57, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act stipulates that documents prepared by public officials must include a name and seal or a signature.

The Supreme Court also ruled in 2012 that an indictment submitted without the prosecutor's name and seal or signature is invalid.

The Seoul Eastern District Court stated, "The filing of an indictment that does not meet the formalities required by law is, in the absence of special circumstances, invalid as the procedure violates legal regulations."

An official from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office explained, "This occurred because the prosecutor was not familiar with the new system," adding, "A staff member signed the indictment on behalf of the prosecutor before it was sent to the court." The prosecution plans to improve the KICS system to prevent indictments from being submitted without a prosecutor's signature and intends to re-indict the six individuals whose cases were dismissed.

Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Seo Byeong-uk | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.